To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote freedom of movement for displaced people in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka. (227287)

On 26 September, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development stressed to President Rajapakse the need to secure the humanitarian space of some 200 to 250 thousand people affected by renewed conflict.

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Michael Foster, on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka during the debate on 15 October 2008, Official Report, columns 240-49WH.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan authorities on recent events in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. (227288)

On 26 September, my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for International Development met President Rajapakse in New York and raised the issue of the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. They stressed the need to secure the humanitarian space and provide humanitarian relief in northern Sri Lanka and called for a sustainable political solution to the conflict.